


Pistachion Apocalypse

by Florafionpetals



Category: Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Angst, Cavendish knows about the the Dakota Island, Death, Difficult Promises, Gen, Heartbreaking deaths, Infection, M/M, Sacrifice, Saving the World, Virus, Zombie Apocalypse, but with pistachions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-20 12:23:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14260893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florafionpetals/pseuds/Florafionpetals
Summary: AU taking place during the season finale Fungus Among Us.When the group fails to find Professor Time and invent time travel earlier, Milo and the gang are on the run in the outskirts of Danville all the while avoiding the Pistachions. But little did they know that Derek had an extreme plot up his sleeves and the group is forced to run away from the ones they have failed to save. And to make things even more dire for the escaping group, Dakota is starting to have the grave effects of eating the pistachion sprouts and it leaves a terrible impact upon Cavendish, as Dakota is slowly turning into the enemy...





	1. Missing Professor

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this could also be a sequel to Fungus Among Us however you see it. Either way this is a twist where Cavendish and the gang couldn’t find Doofenshmirtz immediately...

I don't understand… He's supposed to be here!"

Cavendish exclaimed incredulously as he, Dakota, Milo, Orton and Diogee stood in flabbergasted silence after they had scoured the violet colored apartment for someone. But to their dismay and astonishment, nobody is around but them. Cavendish couldn't believe it a single bit. He turned to look at Milo with a worried gaze forward he had been the one to know about the address. "Milo are you sure that this is the place?"

The young boy jolted out from his trance and nodded firmly. "I've been going through the sewers for as long as I remember! This is 9297 Polly Parkway!" Milo scratched his head. "But I don't see Professor Time anywhere!" Cavendish looked dismayed as the boy. Where could Professor Time be?

The green clad man felt dread for the worse begin to rise and it made him quiver. What if a Pistachion caught him already? What if he's coming back as a pistachion in disguise? Surely by now, Derek might have caught every single human around town and this possibly included Professor Time.

But then there came an even worser aftermath and it terrified Cavendish to the core. What are the odds of Derek figuring out that they'll be going for the inventor of time travel and is aware that he's in this timeline? If he is smart enough to come up with a sinister plot like this, then chances of Derek beating the group to it is high...

Cavendish quivered in disturbed silence at the thought. Until a gentle squeeze from Dakota calmed him down slightly.

The shorter man looked softly into Cavendish's stressed eyes. "Maybe Professor Time isn't home," He suggested calmly. "Look we could just stick around and wait, come back to check again another time. It's no big deal." He shrugged at this and sat down on a nearby sofa. "And besides, it's getting a bit late. Look it's already sundown!"

Cavendish blinked and he now noticed the orange light of day's end simmering from the windows of the purple interior room. He frowned slightly. How ironic of the sunset to be beautiful at a time where they are struggling for their lives? The tall building where Professor Time is said to be gave them a clear view of the setting sun. Sadly, none of them are in the mood to take in the beauty.

"I think we might need to find some shelter to reside in until we can come back and check for Professor Time," Cavendish murmured looking around and back at his group. "We don't want to be stuck here until nighttime. It would be very impolite if Professor Time were to return and find some strangers inside his house,"

The other trio of people exchanged glances. Milo stood up with his hands clasping his backpack straps. "Maybe we could go back to that car park where we took the elevator?" He winced slightly at the next suggestion. "There's still a lot of vehicles over there so if we hide really well, the Pistachions shouldn't find us easily!" Diogee barked in agreement.

Dakota grinned amusedly at the boy and ruffled the kid's hair. "Hey at a time like this that isn't such a bad idea!" Cavendish and Orton looked at him with surprise. "We can just break into one of the vehicles like they do in all those action movies and we can sleep in there until morning!" At his words, Milo produced a crowbar from his backpack, making Dakota smile slyly and taking the object, swing it in a destroying motion. "See we already have something we could use!" Orton grinned at this and scribbled at his notebook in glee.

Cavendish frowned at this and looked deep in thought. Breaking into someone else's property let alone a vehicle isn't a very polite thing to do... He screwed his eyes shut and shook his head. No. This is a time to struggle for their lives. And besides, at a time as deadly at night, it is either spend the night at the car park exposed to the Pistachions in their sleep or break into a car, lock it, and be safe for the night.

He breathed deeply in coming to a final decision. He, Milo, Dakota, Diogee and Orton are the last ones standing in this nut monster infested city and it is crucial they stay that way until they can find Professor Time and end the Pistachions' conquering for good. The whole of Danville is counting on them all.

"Alright, car break in it is."

Cavendish finally said and there group grinned in delight and they stood up to return to the elevator where they had been moments earlier to reach Professor Time's 'lair'. The group was quiet in slight excitement at the thought of safety for the night while Cavendish still felt uncertainty gnaw at his gut for agreeing to an extreme plan for survival.

"I hope the owner wouldn't mind," Muttered the green clad time traveller. Dakota heard him and looked up. "This is very… We shouldn't even be doing this sort of criminal thing! We’re supposed to be the good ones here." His hand went to his forehead in a facepalm and he sighed.

Dakota frowned and placed his hand on Cavendish's shoulder. "Hey it's not exactly a criminal act if we're doing it to escape those nutjobbers Cav," He heartily spoke. "And besides I'm sure the people will understand. After all, it's only natural! Our lives mean a lot more than some machine on four wheels. Plus it’s not like they’re around to see us breaking into their car!" Cavendish rolled his eyes amusedly while Dakota shrugged with a crooked smile. He chuckled with his hands still enclosed around the crowbar Milo had brought.

His right hand casually brushed the crowbar's pole in an up-and-down stroke until it started to slow for Dakota had felt that hand turn stiff. It felt funny. He frowned in slight discomfort and he held up his right hand, clenching and unclenching it. To his shock, it was a darkening shade of brown standing out from the rest of his body and he found it hard to unclench his hand. It's as if it had curled up in a tight fist for ages and it was difficult and uncomfortable to uncurl his fingers.

Dakota started to feel repulsed at the sight and he quickly lowered his hand to slip it in his pocket. Part of him felt dread at realizing that the shade of brown is similar to what he's seen... From Derek's hand. And the memory of him eating those pistachion sprouts back at the Lard World sewers came crashing back causing a wave of horror to course through Dakota. _It's just a one off! It's just a one off!_ His mind kept repeating the four worded phrase in incoming panic. Cavendish had noticed the strange fidgeting from Dakota and he looked alarmed.

"Is something wrong Dakota?" Cavendish questioned worriedly and he reached out to touch Dakota's shoulder.

The slight touch of his fingers made Dakota jump and he looked shocked at Cavendish, before softening down to a weary smile. "I'm okay Cavendish. Just a bit tired that's all," Cavendish lowered a brow at this and Dakota shrunk, knowing that Cavendish wasn't fooled. "Okay maybe I _am_ having a bit of the jitters after what's happened today,"

He puckered with his tongue and stuck it out. "Ugh and I think I could taste the weird out of those pistachios now." He flashed Cavendish and the others a scrunched up expression of disgust. "Whatever you do, do not eat sentient pistachio sprouts. They taste like the nut but with bitter gourd essence, yuck! You'll regret it."

Dakota's childishly expressed comments about his 'earlier snack' made a round of chuckles emit from Milo and Orton. But Cavendish said nothing and he looked very concerned at the prospect of Dakota being unwell. The tall man pressed his lips together and the elevator dinged, signalling the arrival to the car park. Cavendish turned to face Dakota. "It's a good thing we're finding a vehicle to shelter in for the night." He said as he and the others exited the elevator. "You're going to need some rest Dakota. We all do,"

Dakota nodded feebly and he smiled at his partner.

Upon stepping in the car park grounds, looking for a good vehicle that can keep them refuge for the night is first on everyone's minds as they scoured the area's vehicles one by one. They eventually settled on a long row of vehicles not far from a staircase going up to Professor Time's place and it was already getting dark by this point. All that lit up the car park is the night hour dim light system but fortunately for the group, a lighting isn't far away from them and the went on to choose a good vehicle.

Most of the cars they have come across are either too small to contain the four and Diogee or very open to surroundings. What they needed is a fairly spacious vehicle with dark windows, anything that doesn't give them away while they're inside.

The longer they searched, the more stressed they became and Milo was starting to grow slower to the point that Dakota needed to carry him on his back. The boy's eyes were half closed with fatigue and we're about to shut - Until Orton's voice grabbed his attention.

"Hey guys! How about this one?" The tawny haired actor held out his hand towards a vehicle; A black windowless van. "This one's big and it's got no windows! Nobody can see us in its back compartment!" At this, Cavendish and Dakota looked up at the vehicle with hope but Milo looked terrified for the windowless van had given him bad memories.

"No not that one! Anything but a windowless van!" Milo cried out, his pupils shrunken with immense fear. Instincts taking over, Dakota let the boy slip off his back and into his arms while Cavendish and Orton exchanged confused looks. The first mentioned man went to Milo's side. "And what’s wrong with the windowless van, Milo?" He gently asked the boy in concern. "It's big and it can take all of us, no pistachion can find us while we're inside,” He tried to assure him.

Milo however shook his head and he kept clinging to Dakota with his face buried into his waist. He didn't say anything other than whimper and it was then did the adults remember an incident involving the stated vehicle that scarred Milo deeply.

Not long after they arrived two weeks later at Milo's present, a windowless van full of pistachions disguising as a group of young teenagers that included Milo's friends, Zack and Melissa, had been hot on their tail. And later in their brief moment of hiding after outrunning their chasers, the group had also witnessed Milo's sister being kidnapped by pistachions in another windowless van heading for Lardworld.

Cavendish was stung in remembering and Orton too felt awful for bringing up bad memories for Milo. Dakota continued to shush and cradle the boy in his arms while he looked around the row of vehicles himself. He spotted a family sized pickup truck and pointed it out to his companions. "How about we go for that one? It's got dark colored windows so no one can see us." He looked down at the scared boy in his arms and gently nudged him so Milo can see the truck. "What do you think of that one Milo?"

The adults turned to look at Milo in awaiting his thoughts. To their relief, the boy nodded albeit tiredly and the four with Diogee following suit made way for their shelter. With Milo's crowbar, Orton managed to crash a hand-sized portion of the window open (Dakota's hands being too full of sleepy Milo to do it himself) and the group immediately got inside, quickly locking the car doors and Cavendish managed to cover up the hole in the window with a magazine.

Relief coursed through the group that night and they agreed to stay inside the car till daylight. In emotional silence, Cavendish dealt with getting the air conditioning running while Dakota worked on getting Milo comfortable in the backseats where he and Orton are seated. The poor boy had long fallen asleep with Diogee in his arms the moment he was laid down with his head on Orton's lap and the cold breeze coming from the air conditioning came out. Dakota tucked the boy in with a blanket he found wedged inbetween the seats and gently nuzzled Milo's cheek before leaving him to sleep.

Orton sat upright in his place with his head resting against the front seat but he was still awake, clearly restless like Cavendish and Dakota after the stressful ordeal. The latter pair was gazing at the two behind them and Cavendish's heart melted at seeing Milo.

"It's a wonder he's managed to fall sleep after all that's happened," Cavendish whispered in soft amazement. "The poor boy has gone through a lot. All that running and trying to evade Derek's forces wore him out."

Dakota nodded sadly in agreement. "You can say that again Cav. It's been a rough day for all of us..." A slight frown of discomfort creased his brow behind the colored lenses. Cavendish saw it but Dakota is quick to shake his head and change the topic before Cavendish could ask. "Look we need to rest up. We still need to go catch Professor Time tomorrow and do what we've planned to do. Get time travel invented earlier and then things will be back to the way they are before,"

The shorter man stretched his arms in a yawn and before Cavendish knew it, Dakota had leaned over to his side and rested on his lap, his arms folded under the side of his face like a cushion. The skin over Cavendish's eyes rose in astonishment as the action and for a moment it looked as if he were going to push Dakota away from his lap.

But instead, Cavendish didn't feel the desire to shoo Dakota. Dakota sleeping with his head on Cavendish's lap in a similar fashion to Milo with Orton sent comfort coursing through Cavendish and he found himself caressing Dakota's dark brown curls, making the man smile in his sleep and snuggle against his partner's lap. The smile synced with Cavendish too, but it didn't last long for the restless feeling had returned to him. He continued to let Dakota sleep on his lap...

Several hours has passed and the man still couldn't find it in his heart to fall asleep, especially when he's the last one awake out of the group. His tired side occasionally rose to beg him to just close his eyes and sleep. But Cavendish's protective side decided otherwise in fear of pistachions lurking for them in the night and ambushing them in their sleep. He shook his head to get rid of the tiredness and sighed, sitting back against his seat.

"Tonight will be one heck of a night. Sleeping in the risk of being eaten alive or ambushed in our slumber," Cavendish murmured inaudibly. His eyes fell upon the radio station of the car and part of him felt the urge to press some buttons. Maybe a little bit of tunes can keep him awake. Lowering the radio's volume to the softest, Cavendish turned on the radio. Fuzziness was all he heard the first time until he managed to bring out the voice of a person speaking on the radio after a couple turns.

The radio station wasn't exactly pretty to say the least. Cavendish literally felt like he is in some sort of horror movie when he heard what the raspy voiced speaker had said from beyond the set. He didn't recognize the voices that spoke in childish mannerism, but he did know that the owners of those voices are nothing other than the ones Cavendish and his companions have been trying to evade all day...

” _Testing! Testing! Hey is this station working?"_

_"Kevin quit it! You're supposed to stand on night guard! Not play with some human radio equipment!"_

_"Aw come on Dennis! This thing's fun! Everyone can hear my voice!"_

_"Duh there's nobody out who can listen to you on the stupid thing except for those four humans Kevin!"_

_"Aww... But you think they like listening to me-!"_

_"Get back to duty, Kevin."_

_"Fine fine.. I'm just gonna okay some music over here and I'm done."_

_"Good. Now we need to focus. Derek specifically told us to look out for Cavendish and Dakota and this other two and attack if they ever come here,"_

_"Aye aye Dennis!"_

The pistachions' conversation ended and the soft melody of classic music started to play. Definitely one of those black and white films music from the old times that Cavendish really liked. But after hearing the pistachions on radio, the sheer irony of comforting music being played in his face sickened Cavendish to the core and he immediately turned off the radio. Wherever that is, he and the gang are definitely not going to the radio station for sure…

With a heavy sigh, Cavendish closed his eyes and tiredly stared outside the car's window. Tonight is _indeed_ going to be one heck of it. He wondered if they will ever find Professor Time tomorrow morning. The man breathed shakily and tried to stay awake for the rest of the night to last.


	2. The Last Men (and Dog) Standing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some graphic descriptions... You've been warned ^^

Morning had arrived sooner than Cavendish thought and he had difficulty waking up compared to the other trio as a result of his restlessness. The man sighed tiredly and he tried hard to get rid of the bags beneath his eyes. They made him look like a monster. He literally cringed upon seeing himself in the truck's mirror.

Behind him, Dakota and Orton are rummaging through the back of the car in searching for any useful and filling up Milo's backpack with the objects. "Gosh you must have used up a lot of stuff in dealing with Murphy's law," Dakota commented as he placed a couple bags of chips in Milo's backpack. "And then there's Derek and the notjobbers. No wonder your backpack's near empty!"

Milo shrugged with a meek grin. "Well my friends and I did run into a bit of trouble before you and Cavendish came along. It's a long story, I had to use my anchor to stop a ship from moving off and then there was the time when we needed my tools to get out of a cave." The boy chuckled in remembering while the two men smiled on in amusement.

Dakota especially was glad to see Milo less stressed than last night and it often made his day to see the boy smiling. With a chuckle, he left Milo to be in Orton's watch as he went out of the vehicle to check on Cavendish, who was still in front of the pickup truck's mirror. "Hiya Cavendish. Still trying to groom yourself I see?"

Cavendish turned to look at him and Dakota flinched at his eyebags. "Woah…" Dakota switched to his concerned mode. "You've gotta be kidding me - Don't tell me that you stayed up the whole night!"

Cavendish remained silent for a while, and Dakota's arms slumped as he realized. "You stayed up the whole night." He muttered and Cavendish sighed, putting his glasses back on and folding his arms.

"Well somebody's got to keep an eye open for all of us." Cavendish spoke softly. "I just couldn't sleep that well considering that we're out in a pistachion infested city at great risk of being ambushed in our sleep or something like that,"

At this, Dakota appeared guilty and he placed a hand on Cavendish's shoulder with a supportive look. "Well you didn't have to do it alone. Next time we'll both do it, you and me.  I can't leave you hanging by yourself after all," Cavendish's arctic gaze wearily looked upon him, feeling touched at Dakota's selflessness. Suddenly, a previous thought settled in and Cavendish frowned.

He looked over Dakota and studied his facial features. "So... How are you feeling this morning?" The taller man asked while studying Dakota for any signs. "You seemed a bit sickly yesterday. How about now? Any improvement so far?"

Dakota didn't say anything for the reminder of his discomfort from yesterday brought back the internal worries. Now that Cavendish brought it up, Dakota had managed to take a good look at his lame hand while everyone else is still asleep and what he saw had stunned him.

While his right hand still maintained the same shade of tan as the rest of his body, a tint of darkness is starting to show around the fingertips and that tint is a similar shade of brown to a pistachion's claws.

Dakota swallowed in remembering this and he kept his hand buried in his pocket, giving Cavendish a cheery smile.

"Well I'm a _lot_ better than yesterday for sure, Cavendish. Sleeping must have paid it off." Dakota assured heartily, speaking against the uncomfortable feeling in his gut.

Cavendish lowered a brow in slight doubt but then he gave a simple nod with a hum. Part of the taller man felt that Dakota is still a bit unwell, but as long as he seems okay, Cavendish tried to have faith in him; After all, as possibly the last group of men standing it is very essential that they work together.

"Alright then, as long as you feel fine," Cavendish's gaze then grew serious. "But if ever you do feel unwell, please do not keep it to yourself." His hands held Dakota's and his eyes were filled with firmness. "Whenever something like this were to happen again, you _must_ tell me with no hesitation. We and possibly Professor Time are the only ones left who are still uncaptured so we cannot afford to lose one another. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sure. Clear as crystal," Dakota swore and did a cross-my-heart gesture, internally surprised at the authoritative displayed by his partner. Out of all the times Cavendish had played 'ring leader' to the both of them, this type of leadership he displayed is serious. He had long ceased complaining about things the moment this fiasco started and it just impressed Dakota to the core.

He literally stayed up till late just so he can keep an eye on us. Dakota thought with slight sadness as he watched Cavendish then help the others in looking through the pickup truck's back compartment.

_Cavendish is really serious about this now. He wants to protect us so badly… Just like I did._ He looked determined and he inhaled. Well if he's gonna play the leader then I won't let him do it alone.

The burly male shoved his inner discomfort to the back of his head and he approached the rest of the group, who are just getting down from the pickup truck's rear compartment. Orton was casually gulping down a bottle of water and he passed it to Dakota in offering. "Thirsty? This truck had a crate full of them!"

"Huh. At least we have something if we get thirsty," Dakota took the bottle and gulped some down. He lowered the bottle from his lips looking at Milo's direction. "I hope you packed up on these,"

Milo nodded eagerly. "Packed a dozen of them! And we also have some light snacks!" The adult smiled in praising and he ruffled Milo's hair.

* * *

 Sometime later, the quartet made their way back to Professor Time's place. Fortunately, they haven't ran into any Pistachions and they managed to reach the floor where they've been to the previous day to find the legendary professor.

Cavendish frowned in confusion as he studied the area. "That's odd... This place still looks exactly the same as yesterday!" The others looked at Cavendish with surprise. The latter continued to look around in observing. The place still seemed to be free of people, just like it was before they left for the car park.

His heart sank in disappointment as he realized that Professor Time still isn't around.

While he was thinking, the other four continued to scan the area themselves to help look for any clues of people. So far they too have found none. But then Diogee had been sniffing around and his movements came to a stop. The dog's head raised towards a closed door in the room and he whimpered, backing away slightly before growling steadily.

Milo noticed his pet's actions and worry gripped on him. "Diogee? What's wrong boy? Did you find something?" Milo's voice caught the rest of the groups' attention and soon they were surrounding Diogee. What's gotten into him?

That thought filled the minds of the four. The dog continued to growl and his aim was fixated for the violet colored door.

Cavendish felt his heart race and his hand slowly reached out to hold the knob. He stiffened, a wave of uneasiness coursed through him and he looked over his shoulder at the others. "Should I?"

In response, Dakota was quick to have Cavendish's back by gently grasping on his shoulder. He gave an encouraging nod. "Let's just do a quick check." He glanced at Diogee. "The dog's sensed something, so we gotta go see what's behind that door," The green clad man felt the encouragement sink in and he took a deep breath. "Alright. Here goes nothing,"

He turned the doorknob and it opened with a click, surprisingly not locked. The door slowly opened and the group warily peered in. A strong whiff of acidic stench filled the air and Cavendish felt sick. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket to mask his mouth and nose as the entered the room...

It was a mess, as if a tornado had crashed in. But the group could already feel that it wasn't a tornado. The furniture had been knocked over. Walls are littered with huge claw marks and tears. And all over the floor, laid several shed leaves and bark. Diogee whimpered with his tail tucked inbetween his legs and he nudged at a leaf with his nose.

Cavendish picked up the leaf and adjusting his glasses, studied the leaf. "The leaf of the Pistachia Vera…" His voice was laced with dread. "The Pistachions have been here." He swallowed hard and hastily flicked the leaf away; Holding it gave him the chills. The dread grew greater and he found it hard to keep it down. Did they take Professor Time?

A sharp gasp from Milo disrupted his thoughts and Cavendish quickly turned to the source, his eyes widening in shock at the next sight. The boy along with Dakota and Orton were standing before a rather bizarre sight.

A large robot painted with a dark blue suit and brown hair laid on its front, it's robotic limbs jutting out in an unnatural manner and a robotic arm torn off from it's 'socket' could be seen lying not far away. Its back was severely mutilated, like several creatures have been tearing the metal off it's back and ripped apart the wires with aggressive claws. Even until now, the torn edges of wire can be seen giving out electrical sparks.

The robot's face appeared to have once belonged to a very friendly person, the type that always went around greeting people with a bright smile. Right now, the robot was far from that. It's eyes were dark with lifelessness and it's grin was turned upside down for it no longer had energy. The sight sent waves of immense disturbance and horror through the group.

"What in the world... Is that?" Cavendish stuttered slightly as he poked the robot, backing away when sparks came out. He cringed and kept back, shaking his hand.

Dakota approached him with a shrug. "Professor Time must have been an inventor too," He looked down at the robot with a sad look upon seeing its face. "Poor guy. It must have been a pretty nice robot," He didn't acknowledge the weird look Cavendish sent his way.

Shoving the thoughts of the robot aside, the group did some more studying around the room. In his searching, a moan caught Orton off guard and he sat up startled, his gaze fixated at the opposite side of the bed from where he was looking for further clues. "D-Did you hear that guys?"

Everyone looked at Orton with confused looks and shrugs. The man was about to speak up but then the moan sounded again. This time, everyone heard it and their eyes settled on where Orton was staring at. "You're not joking," Cavendish murmured and he stood up slowly, looking at Orton. "Can you go see where it's coming from?"

Orton stiffened with reluctance. But the moaning increased in volume and the man was even more curious. Standing close to the bed, he leaned over to investigate…

It was a brown haired man clad in a retro pharmacist outfit. He was lying in a fetal position and Orton cringed in seeing the blood seeping from his labcoat - He could see it's coming from the abdominal area, but the agonized man's limbs were shielding it from view. His eyes were screwed shut in agony and he was moaning. His skin was pale and one could see the visible, abnormally greenish-grey veins.

Repulsed, Orton looked away leaving his other three to look for themselves. Dakota kept Milo away from the sickening scene as he and Cavendish stared in utter shock. Their hearts throbbed wildly in their chests at the man that's barely dead before them. Professor Time. Something went off on Cavendish's mind and his pupils shrunk to pricks. The Pistachions have hurt him!

"He looks awful… But he's _still_ alive!" Dakota tried to fight down the bile-tasting liquid forming in his throat. Professor Time looked anything but alive, but he's not thanks to his moaning and faint breathing. He looked up at Cavendish with concern clear in his eyes. "S-Should we take him with us?"

Cavendish breathed deeply and he slowly lowered himself so he's close to the agonized professor. His hand reached out, but it immediately recoiled back for the man's breathing had started to quicken. His limbs relaxed slightly but the man's teeth were gritted and grinding; As if he were a downed predator animal.

"P-Professor Time? I... Don't worry, we're here to help you," Cavendish's voice was barely a whisper as he slowly tried to reach out once more. "Please, if you don't mind, I'll need to see where you're-!"

The green clad man didn't get to finish his sentence for out of the blue, a treebark brown hand slashed out at his direction.

The action while it failed to claw his face, managed to knock Cavendish's glasses away from his face and it sent the man stumbling backwards, nearly falling but Dakota had caught him in time. The men gasped in shock as the once downed Professor Time slowly started to rise...

The man was heaving, wheezing with difficulty in breathing and his limbs appeared to creak with every movement. It was then did the group realize that the one they have been looking for is no longer in the right state for confrontation. Dakota especially felt sick to the core at seeing Professor Time's pistachion-like claws.

But that wasn't the last - The man's eyes suddenly snapped open and the pupils beneath were _far_ from human like. In the place of what could have been dark blue eyes sat fiery orange orbs with pale yellow in the center. Having risen to his feet, Professor Time gave a very, pistachion-like snarl and his claws and sharpened teeth were bared as he slowly made his advance.

Without a second to lose as their lives are at stake, Cavendish completely forgot about his glasses and he barked out one single word that Immediately sent the group disappearing down and out of the building, with Cavendish running and urging them on; A green, red, brown, burgundy and yellow set of blurs hightailing it out with Professor Time running hot at their heels.

The group with their healthier legs were faster, but the vicious Pistachion possessed man showed no sign of stopping. Instead, he continued to chase after his prey much to the group's dismay. The chase went on for minutes. Until eventually, the group was driven outside Professor Time's building - A tall purple skyscraper named Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated...

* * *

  _"Lots of me…!"_

The repulsive monster that was Professor Time groaned out in defeat and he turned heel. A slouched, pale man with Pistachion eyes and long, sharp claws dragging against the floor as he walked. Cavendish continued to peer in warily watching the 'zombie' from behind a dark alleyway, until he disappeared fully.

Once the coast is clear, he beckoned for the others that it's safe and one by one, the quartet and Diogee came out from behind the trashcans and boxes. They stared after the direction where Professor Time disappeared to.

Their hearts by this point had completely sunk down with hopelessness for they had fully absorbed the one fact; The one, devastating fact that the head of the one man who could help them is replaced with the same mindset of the green villain who's trying to find them all.

"I can't believe it... Professor Time is gone. If we can't get him to invent time travel then... We _can't_ go back." Cavendish whispered out and he nearly fell to his knees. They should have found him earlier. If they did then Professor Time would still be safe and spared from Derek's poison.

Dakota continued to offer Cavendish his support in the form of comforting words while Milo and Orton stood in flabbergasted silence.

The boy was holding Diogee closer and he let out a whimper. "What did the Pistachions do to him?" Milo murmured in disturbed tone. The adults had nothing to say for this. Orton gazed at him sadly and mouthed an 'I don't know,' before offering the boy a shoulder to lean on. The group continued to linger in devastated silence, even as they journeyed on to find their next refuge spot.

It was nothing but cruel hours of having their lives at this point compared to the previous night when they had easily found shelter with little to no obstacles. Ever since their fiasco with Professor Time and they set foot outside on the open city for the first time since yesterday, Pistachions have started patrolling the area and it really took the group effort to evade them.

With just the four of them and Diogee, fighting back against a Pistachion with no weaponry on hand is very unwise. The patrols came in groups with five to six or more members and unlike Cavendish and Co, they have weapons and their teeth and claws.

All the men had is nothing.. Even Milo, for he had lost his cattle prod among other weapon-potential items back at 1965 or the Sewers.

And to make it even more disturbing for the group, the Pistachions are patrolling… With several more people who are in a state similar to Professor Time's. There has only been few of them at least, but it still sent dread through the group as they were given the clear idea on what will become of them if the Pistachions ever catch them. Their leader prayed that they didn't have to come into contact with the infected... 

_That wretched Derek. He's found a horrid way of putting humans to his usage._ Cavendish hissed in sheer disgust while he continued to strike two stones together. The gesture caused flames to spark and Cavendish quickly placed the fire into the tinder they have found.

The basement of the empty, but heavily wrecked convenience store was the group's choice of shelter for tonight and the entrance doorknob has been locked to ensure they stay secured. Milo and Orton sat sharing cups of heated noodles while Cavendish and Dakota shared one between themselves; Diogee laid at Milo's feet lapping up the contents of canned meat.

They were very lucky that night that Josh's store is still running with electricity and there are electric kettles in his shelves. With all the food and supplies, the group could relax knowing their needs to survive are in reach. Even if it's only temporary.

Dakota naturally slurped his noodles the loudest much to Cavendish's annoyance and the other two laughed aloud when he burped. "Excuse me!" Dakota grinned meekly and shrugged while Cavendish continued to hold their cup, his lower lip twitching with slight amusement.

"You really are a dolty snack hound are you?" Cavendish teased with an eye roll as he nibbled. He swallowed the food in a gulp and he lowered the cup to the ground, eyeing his companions one by one. The light but proper dinner had satisfied their hunger and now they were moments from ready to hit the sack. If only it were under better circumstances where they didn't see Professor Time in a zombie state…

"Looks like it will just be the five of us here from now on," Cavendish exhaled slowly. "We are officially stuck. Stuck in the Pistachion infested Danville with nobody but each other. But despite that, look at how far we are! With each other we managed to take care of ourselves while evading those plant beasts! If Professor Time cannot help us than we will have to do this ourselves!"

The others continued to gaze wordlessly at their ring leader as he stood up in a pose of glory. One could literally hear the United Kingdom music playing in the background and the country's  Flag literally dropped, further acting as a backdrop as Cavendish went on with his inspiring speech.

"We failed to protect him. We will die trapped here or taken by Pistachions! But you know what my brothers? That day is not today! For us this day might have been filled with utter hopelessness and disappointment but will not, let this stop us! We few, we happy few! A pair of time traveller agents, an actor and a boy and his dog, we shall not mope about in our failure! Instead, we will keep moving forward with our chins up high until we reach our goal! Our goal of proving ourselves as the one group of people the entire city of Danville can be proud of!"

The music kept playing even as Cavendish ended and everyone was staring at Orton. The man laughed nervously before switching off a casette player that played the music. "Sorry. I thought the speech could use a little effect," He shrugged meekly and going over to the flag, tugged on its string and it rolled back up.

Cavendish simply rolled his eyes and he wore a small smile as his friends gathered. Milo went closer and he brushed Cavendish's arm, brown eyes full of hope. "We _can_  make it out of this. We all will," The boy said and it made Cavendish's heart swell with joy.

The man held out his arms and soon, the quartet are enveloped in a group hug, relishing in each other's company; The crackling fire igniting with the light of hope amidst the darkness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Professor Time is 'dead' and it is just our group who's remaining. What will become of them? Only time can tell >:3
> 
> And yeah, I snuck in a reference for the epic Ferb speech ^^

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Cav... he’s the ringleader now and he’s going to protect his little family at all costs. And scared Milo needs Dakota a lot...


End file.
